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NATO to deploy units to Baltics, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria

Associated Press
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NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a media conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Monday, Jan. 26, 2015. Ambassadors met on Monday for an extraordinary meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission and released a statement condemning the sharp escalation of violence along the ceasefire line in eastern Ukraine. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert) (The Associated Press)

El secretario general de la OTAN Jens Stoltenberg da una conferencia de prensa en la sede de la alianza militar en Bruselas el lunes 26 de enero de 2015. (Foto AP/Geert Vanden Wijngaert) (The Associated Press)

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a media conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Monday, Jan. 26, 2015. Ambassadors met on Monday for an extraordinary meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission and released a statement condemning the sharp escalation of violence along the ceasefire line in eastern Ukraine. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert) (The Associated Press)

NATO is deploying small units in six eastern European nations to help coordinate a spearhead force set up in response to Russia's actions in Ukraine.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Friday the units in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Bulgaria and Romania will be the first of their kind there.

Defense ministers from the 28-nation military alliance will discuss the full force, which can react quickly to any hotspots in Europe, when they meet on Feb. 5.

Stoltenberg said countries responsible for providing the several thousand troops should be known next week. Norway, Germany and the Netherlands are ready to contribute.

The forward units will comprise a few dozen troops only. They will plan and organize military exercises, and provide command and control for any reinforcements the force might require.